The deal was 'no acting required'
In an industry built on someone's getting a raw deal, few deals have been rawer than the post-Boogie Nights career of Burt Reynolds. He was marvelous as the patriarchal porn king in that film, and while the actor lined up plenty of work in the wake of his Boogie Nights Oscar nomination, none of it mattered as much.
In an industry built on someone's getting a raw deal, few deals have been rawer than the post-
Boogie Nights
career of Burt Reynolds. He was marvelous as the patriarchal porn king in that film, and while the actor lined up plenty of work in the wake of his
Boogie Nights
Oscar nomination, none of it mattered as much.
Deal
matters least of all. It stars Reynolds as "retired poker legend" Tommy Vinson, who takes a callow Yalie (Bret Harrison) under his wing, with the intention of teaching him a little something about the game, about life, about the art of the "tell."
Reynolds does less than no acting in this role, and he's still the best thing in
Deal
. Even now he has movie stardom in his bones. He does, for the record, look pretty odd, given the dubious plastic surgery of late. In
Deal
, when Reynolds sits there behind his sunglasses (usually indoors), his arms uncomfortably folded, it's as if he's trying to keep everything together, lest some of that facial work go flooey.
The film features Shannon Elizabeth as a Vegas chippy, and various real-life poker fixtures playing themselves or versions of themselves, notably Jennifer Tilly as "Razor." Cowriter and director Gil Cates Jr. sure loves his old-school poker ethos. Too bad the chips fall where they do.
Deal * (out of four stars)
Directed by Gil Cates Jr. With Burt Reynolds, Charles Durning, Shannon Elizabeth, Jennifer Tilly and Bret Harrison. Distributed by MGM.
Running time:
1 hour, 26 mins.
Parent's guide:
PG-13 (language, sexual content and brief drug use)
Playing at:
Area theaters